Sunday, July 12, 2009

i can see the temple off the left side of the bus. this is mormon territory. lds, as they're called - latter day saints. apparently part of their belief is about preparedness, and all mormons are required to have a year's worth of supplies in the event of .... whatever it is they're waiting for. the return of jesus? no, that's those other guys. a year's worth of food, water, guns and ammo .... wait a minute, if you have guns and ammo, surely you can get the other stuff easily enough.

i shouldn't be so crass. it's just that, although i'm enamoured with the work of the pastors for peace, i'm not here as a representative of any particular faith. although i do appreciate the quiet contemplative way of the quakers. and i can relate with some of indigenous spirituality, and some wicca. i appreciate that i can be a part of this group, and do this work, without being forced into any particular doctrine of belief. as lisa mentioned last night when we were talking with the pocatello unitarians, we're not a cult. people go into this thing knowing full well what they're getting themselves into. we're from various socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds, some people steeped in the tradition of faith, some not. what unites us is a curiousity about, and a love for, cuba. the cuban people and their revolusion. their struggle to create an economic and social alternative to global corporate capitalism. the strength of their belief, their endurance, their intelligence, their compassion.

all 'blasphemous' comments aside, i am very grateful for the unitarians who host and support us along the way. although we don't believe in the same 'god' (i'm still searching for a word to describe what i believe in, being unwilling to twist my head around re-defining that ancient meaning-filled word every time i hear it), these people are willing to host us in many cities across these the inflated states of erratica - feeding us, letting us use their showers and laundry, offering a piece of their floor or their spare room or their couch. all kidding aside, we're very thankful for that.

it's raining a little bit, as we approach the city that borders the great salt lake. the hills between here and pocatello are decidedly greener than they were last year. don, our poca host, explained it's been a very wet and cold spring which is tough on some of the farmers who aren't used to it, but i sure feel better being surrounded by some green. i couldn't live in the desert, with its lack of water .... it'd scare me.

it was a good drive. rick is a terrific driver, though i'll confess to a white knuckle moment when we were approaching 70 mph on that downward hill.

in the pocatello kitchen last night, after the potluck (i had cole slaw salad and cherries and grapes), i listened to two men air their concerns about a phospherous mine to the south of the town as dishes were washed and dried. apparently it's starting to leach selenium, and that's having some impact on livestock in the area. phospherous is used primarily in chemical pesticides, also in toothpaste and clothing. i'm sure we can figure out something else to use in toothpaste and clothing. it's really just another good reason to support organic agriculture.

what's this about?

After the Reverend Lucius Walker Jr. was shot by 'Freedom Fighters,' with a bullet his tax dollars bought (ostensibly to 'liberate' Nicaraguans), he decided to do something different.

This year, 2012, marks the 23rd year for the Pastors for Peace Friendshipment. Sometime in June or July we'll begin journeying along 15 or so different routes, starting in Canada and travelling through the USA and Mexico, collecting and delivering humanitarian aid to the incredible Cubans.

What we're doing is technically illegal. We're challenging a blockade that has held since 1961 - coincidentally, the year I was born. We're delivering humanitarian aid (health and school supplies, computers, etc) directly to the Cuban people.

Cuba is not a perfect society .... but they do some things really well. True to their revolutionary principles, and I believe Che would be pleased, there is an incredible holistic health care system that cares for people from cradle to grave (and perhaps beyond) and all education (including University) is free. They do organic and community agriculture, and they're not slaves to the IMF and World Bank (who demand 'structural adjustment policies,' essentially the death of publically owned services, in exchange for loans.) There is some foreign investment in Cuba, but the Cubans won't allow foreigners to own more than 49%.

We caravanistas believe that Cuba has the right to exist.

You're welcome to follow the journey along .... check out the movie about Che and the revolution, call your local community radio and indy media folks, let them know you want them to follow the 23rd Caravan to Cuba.

Eso si que es la vida !!! This is the life !!!

about me

i've lost faith in the corporate and state media. they claim to be 'balanced' and 'un-biased,' but they're not.

sometimes they lie outright. most of the time they leave a lot of information and context out. they're often earth un-friendly, printing mostly advertising on dead trees. they're funded and motivated by big money, big power, and subsequently we hear what they want us to hear.

i created this blog so i could share my journey with pastors for peace. i've been a social justice and environmental activist for a couple of decades. i'll be up front about it - that's the perspective you'll find here. you don't have to believe any of it if you don't want. go on your own journey, write your own blog. maybe i'll read it.

the first time i participated in the humanitarian aid caravan to cuba was in 2008. i went again in 2009. it's so much fun i'm doing it again in 2012, with the 23rd caravan. it's also a lot of hard work, and expensive, but the cubans are such an inspiration with their free education and health care ... and activists like me feel very welcomed there. if you'd like to share some financial support for the journey, i won't stop you, and i promise i'll spend it responsibly and ethically.